Knicks' Jalen Brunson remains positive Julius Randle will turn early-season struggles around
The Knicks’ loss to the Bucks on Friday night was very reminiscent of the team’s final playoff game against the Miami Heat last season.
A lot of Jalen Brunson heroics and not much else from the rest of the starters. On Friday. Brunson went off for 45 points and gave the Knicks a late lead against the title-contending Bucks. With more contributions from their starters including Julius Randle, the Knicks likely win that game.
Randle dropped 16 points against Milwaukee on 5-of-20 shooting, including 1-of-9 from three. In six games, the 28-year-old is averaging 13.7 points a game but is shooting 27.1 percent from the field and 22.5 percent from three.
Those numbers are a big reason the Knicks sit at 2-4 and dropped their first game in the inaugural In-Season Tournament. And Randle knows it.
"I’m just not in rhythm,” Randle said after the game via The Athletic’s Fred Katz. “Not in rhythm, everything just seems a little bit off, you just start pressing a little bit, but like I said, I’ve just gotta stay with it. Keep working."
And while Knicks fans are down on Randle, Brunson has his teammate’s back and believes he’ll turn things around.
“It happens. It’s part of basketball. This dude, he has a great mindset, a great work ethic. He comes in every day, does what he has to do, does his routine and all that stuff,” Brunson told the media after Friday’s loss, via Newsday’s Steve Popper. “The ball is not going through the hoop right now for him. I tell him every day I’m with him. We’re going to work through this, everything. When I have days I’m not making shots he says the same to me.
He added, “It’s just, it’s alright. I mean, he’s missing shots but we’re still in games. He’s still contributing in a big way. I’m not going to get into all that stuff, but his heart’s still there. He just has to get over this little hump.”
Randle did bring down 12 rebounds (four offensive) while dishing five assists in the loss but he was an overall -5 on the night, a far cry from what he was last season.
During the 2022-23 season, Randle averaged 25.1 points and shot 45.9 percent from the field including 34.3 percent from three en route to an All-Star and All-NBA selection so the offense is in there for the Knicks power forward there’s just a disconnect in the team’s offense.
Randle spoke about his “rhythm” after the team’s loss to the Cavaliers on Wednesday and he continues to preach it.
Aside from the offensive struggles, the Knicks have not been able to get that defensive stop when they needed it, like in Friday’s game.
Brunson’s three put the Knicks up with less than two minutes left, but Milwaukee’s newest addition Damian Lillard ran off six straight points to essentially ice the game.
“Crucial stops, crucial buckets, at certain times but you have to give them credit first and foremost,” Brunson said of what’s not working for the team right now. “I think we’re trending in the right direction. Still have a lot of work to do but continue to get better.”
The Knicks will need to get better quickly as they’ll host the Clippers on Monday before introducing Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
